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Abigail
Abigail (literally named "her father's joy") was the second wife of King of Israel in the 's . She is only mentioned in the and in . David and Abigail had a son named Daniel. Biography Marriage to Nabal At one point in her life Abigail was married to a wealthy livestock owner named Nabal. Nabal was a mean and hateful man whereas Abigail was both intelligent and beautiful 1 Sam 25:3. Nabal was a Calebite and since he was very unkind in comparison to Abigail's noble character, she was probably married to him for his wealth. Dealings with David When David was on the run from Saul, he encamped near the land of Abigail's husband. Since Nabal was nearby, David sent messengers to Nabal to see if he would give him and his army some food 1 Sam 25:8-11. Nabal rejected to give David any food, and so one of the servants complained to Abigail about her husband 1 Sam 25:14-17. Abigail quickly responded by gathering two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep and abundance of other food and loaded it all onto some donkeys 1 Sam 25:18. She then sent some servants on ahead of her and followed behind with her own donkey, all of this without telling her husband 1 Sam 25:19. As she rode her donkey into a mountain ravine she came and met up with David 1 Sam 25:20. When Abigail saw the mighty king David she quickly dismounted and prostrated before David on the ground 1 Sam 25:24. She then pleaded for David to ignore her husband's unkind behavior, because it was his nature 1 Sam 25:25-26. She then asked David to take the gifts she had brought him 1 Sam 25:27 and to remember her servanthood when David achieved victories 1 Sam 25:28-31.Abigail was then blessed by David 1 Sam 25:32-34. Her gifts were then accepted by David and she was sent home peacefully, with her request to spare Nabal granted 1 Sam 25:30. When Abigail returned to her husband, he was drunk. Once Nabal was sober again Abigail told him what she had done for David 1 Sam 25:36-37. Then Nabal's heart failed and ten days later he died 1 Sam 25:38. Abigail was now widowed, so David hearing of her husband's death asked her to become his wife (perhaps because of her intellect and beauty, but perhaps also to repay her for her good deed) 1 Sam 25:39. Servants arrived at Carmel and notified Abigail of the marriage invitation 1 Sam 25:40 and she came obediently. She bowed respectfully and told David she was his servant ready to serve 1 San 25:41. Immediately Abigail mounted her donkey, bringing her five maids with her and became his wife 1 Sam 25:42. Consort of David While Abigail was the wife of David she served as Co-Queen Consort of David. While she herself was not a monarch, as a Queen she would've been highly esteemed as the wife of the reigning of King. Unfortunately for Abigail, David had several other wives, thus dividing the King's attention and causing David's relationship with her to be less special. As a "Co" Queen Consort, Abigail had to share this responsibility with David's other wives. In the Land of the Philistines It came to a point in David's running from , where he decided to move to to the Land of the in order to hide 1 Sam 27:1. David brought his army with him and their families, including his own two wives: Ahinoam and Abigail. Beforehand Abigail had lived in Carmel with her former husband Nabal, and then in with David. Now Abigail would live in the Philistine city-state of , under the protection of the King 1 Sam 27:2-3. Abigail lived in Gath with her husband David for a year and four months 1 Sam 27:7. In Captivity Eventually Abigail's husband and his army were expelled from the Land of the Philistines and so they moved to Ziklag. Shortly thereafter the Amalekites raided Ziklag while David and his men were away. They also took captive all the residents of the city 1 Sam 30:1-2, including Abigail 1 Sam 30:5. Verses